We invite you to "Imagine A Better World" - A brand new Pro-Peace platform

• We plan to launch an entirely new pro-peace platform. We are tired of criticism, "anti", "against" and "down with" and "non-". We know a patient will not be cured without treatment.

• We are going to contribute to qualified hope and vision in a new way, combining peace research with all other peace expressions.

• We have the basic idea. It's going to be a combination of a wiki and a multidimensional blog.

• We need YOUR ideas, visions, and - if you can - your direct participation even now, way before we even have a prototype.

Imagine a Better World - A New Internet Platform

The idea “Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness”

Like 99% of humankind you prefer peace, development, justice and a healthy environment. But look around: Why, still, don’t we get it? Why is constructive work still so weak compared with the destructive trends we see?

Here is one - we believe fundamental - reason:
Doctors of human beings do diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. Doctors of the world mostly lack the treatment part. There is much knowledge, criticism and warnings of breakdown in the world, and that is necessary. But there is still too little constructive thinking and images of a better world in our media, research and public debate.

TFF celebrates its 25th anniversary on January 1, 2011.

From then onwards, the foundation will focus almost exclusively on treatment, constructive proposals and projects. We will create a new interactive, wiki-type of pro-peace platform . The address will be http://www.imagineabetterworld.org - but it does not exist yet.

The site that does exist is this - a planning and dialogue site where we invite people to tell us how to make the future site as useful as possible. Find it at:

In addition to this future orientation, it will make visible the peace of the present as we can find it in cultural production and other non-academic areas of life. Peace is done every day - much more than war! Let’s make peace more visible and exciting. Together!

By January 1, 2011 we also change name to TFF - The Transnational. About six months later, the present website http://www.transnational.org will become an archive of world peace issues 1997-2010.

If we can’t imagine it, we won’t work for it. We invite you to support and contribute to this new pioneering, innovative effort.

Imagine a Better World - multi-platform on the Internet

Imagine a comprehensive Internet platform highlights the pro-peace aspects of our time, all around the world - on many dimensions. A place filled with “aha”, “wonderful”, “I-did-not-know-that” experiences. A place where visitors - young in particular - are convinced that “Yes, there is hope - people have done it”, “I can make it too” - and telling them where to link up to make a difference.

Imagine a world famous architect talking about how she shapes her buildings to further personal harmony and partnership with nature. An exposé of whether or not Mozart’s operas have a peace and reconciliation content? Is there such a thing as peace photography? What about Lady Gaga’s music videos? Why is traditional peace imagery - the dove, for instance - so boring? (Sorry!)

Imagine analyses of the wars that “should” have happened according to theories, but did not. Most great changes in our world have happened without war. Review of peace versus war games and the underlying psychology?

Imagine multi-media presentations of - What is the culture, history and people really like in the places we bomb and occupy? Who are the peace lords and ladies in war zones - and everyday peaceful, decent life - we never hear about? The success of the globalizing schools. How whistle-blowers and other individuals have changed the world. Studies of cultures without violence, languages that can’t express hatred. Success stories from development and ecological work around the world.

In short - "ImagineABetterWorld.org" will focus on peace with other people, cultures and with Mother Earth - maximum 25% description and criticism, 75% creativity, hope and inspiration!

Imagine competitions and awards and winners publishing and selling their awarded peace work online. Manuals of trainings and online-courses in global peace, peace by peacevul means. A place where people can advertise their competences and consultancies and search jobs. Students publishing innovative papers and MAs in future thinking. And, of course, discussion forums and groups like a Facebook for Imagining a Better World, including buttons of “Like” and “Share”.

What kind of platform?

We don’t know yet how to do this technically, but perhaps Web 2.0-inspired. It could be a TFF-based activity and a homepage with many entries and super-navigability - and thus made by a team we compose of TFF Associates and a lot of young, new people. (The Cathedral model)

It could also be more like giving it away: A kind of “wikipedia” for and of peace (the real Wikipedia is lousy on anything peace) where, in principle, anyone can log in and place materials. If so, it must be moderated by a TFF team, not to exercise censorship but to secure that all contributions have a mainly pro-peace content. (Criteria would have to be very elaborate, we know that and we are working on them). Judging from the present social Internet communities, people are happily devoting a lot of unpaid time to contribute to the common global good. (The Bazaar model).

Economics

TFF could contribute a sum to get started. We could do a special fund-raising for the idea, but there must be a first prototype before people are willing to “invest” in it. If you like the idea you could mention it on your Facebook and Twitter page and solicit support and contributions. Send people our way!

We want to explore ways in which such a platform could generate money - advertisements, a fee for logging in to some sections and/or being a member and post stuff; there should be ads (e.g. publishers and film corporations that promote peace whose products are highlighted). There will be donations and perhaps grants for special projects from the EU, governments and socially responsible firms.

Getting started

By posting a 1-2 pages summary on our website, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, ask people to comment and commit themselves. This means participatory already in the creation phase. Raising resources and funds would imply a widely shared ownership.

TFF would get the first prototype-kind of platform going in the first months of 2011, contact people, pay consultants, and the like - but would then need more funds, unless it becomes driven by people around the world who would devote their time, competence and energies. Jan Oberg, who developed the basic idea is willing to set off considerable time in 2011 to coordinate the project, but he does not want to be main responsible in the longer run.

Please write to us on TFF@transnational.org how this basic idea can be improved, carried by yourself and many others and reach out to thousands in years to come.

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